Manually processing and distributing documents to customers, employees and suppliers can be a time and cost intensive process. However, increasingly we’re seeing forward-thinking organisations look at ways to automate this process to free up time and focus on higher value tasks. Here, we take a look at how you too can harness automation technology to create information-rich documents that deliver both increased productivity and value.
Whether it’s correspondence with customers, invoicing suppliers, or employee documentation, there’s no doubt that communication is at the heart of every business operation. Time critical, security compliant and increasingly audience specific – these documents have to work harder and deliver more value. For example, customers are expecting organisations to communicate with more highly personalised and accurate documents via multiple channels.
The reality is that for many organisations still rooted in manual document processing activities, there’s a risk of human error. Ownership of processes is disjointed, sign off and authorisation can be fragmented, all which slow down operations. In addition, legacy systems restrict the output and struggle to integrate with online and digital channels.
Bridging the gap between audiences and software infrastructure, document automation applications control, compose and present information more efficiently and effectively, increasing impact and your organisation’s bottom line – here’s how:
- Control costs
Whether it’s printing time-critical documents with no minimum order quantity or reducing the financial and productivity costs of inaccurate or late communications, document automation is driving efficiencies and profits. Organisations adopting robotic process automation such as this are realising ROI within weeks not years, with some reporting up to 75% savings.
- Intelligent, intuitive impact
Documents generated in volume need to be done so efficiently and accurately – and they also need to be targeted. They may draw on information held across the organisation in a variety of systems and file formats and require audience specific information.
Scalable applications can provide on-demand printing with highly personalised and specific content in a controlled way. Integrating with your current legacy systems, document automation can take data in different formats from multiple sources composing and presenting documents with engaging, personalised and branded content.
Document automation systems use management controls and rejection rules to control accuracy at speed. Communications can be prioritised and output selection automated to print and digital channels.
- Multi-channel and mobile
It’s becoming imperative for organisations to provide an online presence for documents and information. Data protection compliance and risk of security breaches means emailing of attachments is no longer a trusted option.
The development of secure document platforms which bring current and historical documents together in one place with 24/7 access is addressing this demand. It delivers app style viewing experience but without the overheads required for the development and maintenance of a native app.
It goes without saying that through innovation, product development and the application of emerging technologies, document automation is working intuitively with operational growth and productivity. It is no longer an ‘add on’ but central to business critical, highly complex communications which helps save time and money; allowing you to do more with your documents and your employee’s time.
The benefits of document automation speak for themselves, however when presenting the business case to other stakeholders in your organisation there will inevitably be questions.
We’ve put together key queries we get asked so you can easily anticipate any challenges and demonstrate the solutions to reassure stakeholders and begin your document automation journey much sooner. Read the article here, Changing perspectives: barrier to document automation – do they exist?